CITY HALL
Power out,
agents in
Darkness, stolen signs and so-called undercover agents marked the
week leading up to Glendale's April 5 municipal election.
About a quarter of the city lost power for two hours Thursday due
to a problem with a transformer at Grayson Power Plant. It was
Glendale's third blackout in three weeks, and city officials believe
the transformer is responsible for all three.
The problems began March 8, when an animal got too close to the
transformer and caught fire. City officials will move a transformer
from another substation to Grayson Power Plant on Sunday, and
eventually order a replacement transformer.
* On Monday, city officials found a stash of about 50 campaign
lawn signs from at least a dozen candidates in the hillsides off of
Valentine Drive and Nesmuth Road. Candidates have complained about
stolen signs throughout the campaign, but Monday's find is the first
evidence of an organized effort to remove signs. The Glendale Police
Department is investigating the stolen signs.
* Serjik Andreasian, a 42-year-old Los Angeles resident, wasn't
stealing signs at Tuesday's City Council meeting, but he did wind up
in jail. Police arrested Andreasian during the council meeting for
delaying city business.
Andreasian entered the council chambers dressed in a construction
outfit. He demanded to speak, and then began holding up pictures of
City Council candidates. Mayor Bob Yousefian eventually called a
recess and police asked Andreasian to leave the room. Andreasian
resisted, claiming to be an undercover agent for the state of
California. Police arrested him outside the council chambers.
POLITICS
An early dose
of politics
Not all of the students in Nick Doom's American government class
are old enough to vote, but that's not stopping them from
participating in the political process.
Getting extra credit, of course, sweetens the experience. A group
of 12th-graders from Clark Magnet High School are volunteering for a
minimum of six hours for various candidates in the April 5 municipal
election. In the process, they're learning about the political
process.
EDUCATION
A sister city exchange
Students at Wilson Middle School crossed the cultural line with a
brush this week. Even though the 30 girls and boys from
Higashiosaka's basketball team in Japan could not speak English, the
students successfully taught their American friends Japanese
calligraphy and how to write the character "friend." The group also
visited classrooms, ate American food and played basketball.
Higashiosaka is Glendale's sister city. The group spent four days in
Glendale and left Thursday.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Goodbye to Fergie
Several members of the Glendale Citizens for Law & Order said
farewell to the Police Department's drug-sniffing dog Fergie and
welcomed her replacement, Buddy, at a luncheon Wednesday in the
Glendale Police Department community room.
During Fergie's eight-year tenure with the force, she has helped
officers seize more than $2.5 million in cash, 150 kilograms of cocaine, 125 pounds of meth and a ton of marijuana. Fergie's nose has
led to hundreds of search warrants and uncovered several
methamphetamine labs.
The force does not have a K-9 unit, only a drug-sniffing dog. The
community organization plans on raising $200,000 to launch the
program, and Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams hopes to add four more
dogs by the end of the year. Adams wrapped up the ceremony by giving
the pups police badges.
